the rock art of the hunter-gatherers in southern africa
Rock Art Conservation Floor Stabilisation at Nswatugi Rock Art Site, Matobo Hills Cultural Landscape
Senzeni Khumalo, Charity Nyathi, Kelvin Machiwenyika & Todini Runganga Senzeni Khumalo is a curator of Archaeology based at the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She holds a Master of Arts in Archaeology. Her research interest is in archaeology and heritage management. Charity Nyathi is a curator of Archaeology based at the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo and the manager for Matobo Hills World Cultural Landscape. She holds a master’s degree in Heritage Management from Midlands State University and her research interests are in rock art, public archaeology and archaeology. Kelvin Machiwenyika is a curator of Archaeology at the Zimbabwe Museum of Human Sciences in Harare. He is responsible for the management of national monuments in the northern regions of Zimbabwe. He holds a master’s degree in Archaeology from the University of Cape Town. His interests are in rock art, Iron Age and Stone Age. Todini Runganga is a curator of Archaeology at the Natural History Museum in Bulawayo. His interests are in rock art, lithic studies and Iron Age. He is also a site manager for Khami World Heritage Site. He holds a master’s degree in Heritage Studies from the University of Zimbabwe.
Nswatugi is a cave which lies at 20°32´08.54´´ S 28°28´42.42´´ E in the Matobo Hills World Heritage Cultural Landscape. It is an impressive narrow cave with a maximum length of 16 meters, and a maximum width of 5,3 meters. The hunter-gatherer paintings are most concentrated on the north-west panel where the painted surface stretches for 9,6 meters in length and 4,8 meters in height. A survey conducted in 2019 revealed that there is at least 162 individual paintings with a broad variety of techniques – monochrome, bi-chrome and shaded polychrome – and colours – white, red, orange, brown and dark-red. Types of images which are depicted include anthropomorphic, zoomorphic and geometric motifs. Nswatugi was declared a national monument in 1937 due to its outstanding hunter-gatherer rock paintings and it is where the oldest human skeleton in Zimbabwe was recovered as well as evidence of Middle Stone Age
occupation dating to around 42 000 BP. Walker’s (1995) excavation yielded the oldest known human skeleton in Zimbabwe, dated to 9 500 BP. The cave is also one of the most visited rock art sites in the Matobo Cultural Landscape. This could be due to the fact that it is well published in guide books, well sign-posted and its access is fairly easy. The site also has an interpretative centre which chronicles its scientific value.
State of conservation of Nswatugi Paintings A condition survey which was carried out in 2019 revealed a number of factors which are affecting the paintings. One of the biggest threats to the painting is dust. Dust is confined to lower sections of painted surface, approximately one meter from the ground. The dust accumulated over a long period through different phases of occupation and use. It is generally agreed that the cave
Lesedi #23 | Carnets de terrain | IFAS-Recherche | Novembre 2020
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